Unlinked Branded Mentions – The Link Builders Gold Mine

Whether you’re an SEO guru or a website owner looking to expand, link building is key to establishing the authority you need to build your site. More “authoritative” sources that you have linked to your site means more awareness of your brand on the web. With an ever-growing abundance of information on the internet,  It’s important for you be aware of the reach of your own brand and to know how to channel it to your favor.

You’re already being talked about.

If you or a client has a brand presence on the web, no matter the size, your brand is somewhere being mentioned. Unlinked brand mentions are plain-text mentions of your brand, without an actual link to redirect internet users to your site. Use these tips to find and convert these mentions to active links to your site and build your brand’s authority on the web.

Start Digging

You know you’re out there somewhere, now here are some tools to find out exactly where your brand is being mentioned.

Google Alerts– allows you to enter a search query you wish to monitor and receive daily email updates of the latest relevant Google results, that being news, web, etc. Using this tool, you can monitor content about your own brand and customize your search results via the “manage your alerts” tab. Advance your search results by searching for popular, relevant products and executive names.

Fresh Web Explorer– is a tool by Moz analytics which allows users to research and compare mentions and links, using the Freshscape Index. With this tool, Moz subscribers have access to over 3 Million RSS feeds and over 64 Million URLs.

Ahrefs– is a backlink checker but also features a tool called, “mentions tracker,” which allows you to search your brand and shows the results of where your brand is being mentioned on the web.  From there, you are able to filter through the social media sites and reach out to the sites where you may be able to build a link.

Mention.net– is a media monitoring tool that allows you to search your brand, as well as relevant “expressions” or keywords to reach out to more places where your site is being mentioned. It also features a “sources” tab where you can filter through social media and search for web results only, where actual links can be created.

Reach Out

You see that you’ve already produced content that has gained you a mention on another site. Now, be proactive about taking your credit for it, politely of course.

The way to acquire a link to your site is by sending a polite request to the website owner, webmaster, or editor.  Asking for links can be a bit of a delicate process, however. Many owners don’t like the idea of directing traffic away from their site. Show the person in charge that you would like to be properly mentioned, without ruffling their feathers too much. Consider your audience and which approach might best suit you.

Update Records

While browsing the site with the mention, check to see if any of the information mentioned about your brand is incorrect or out of date. If so, politely ask to have the information updated with your URL link. This is a most direct and more surface level approach.

Add Suggestions

This deeper-level approach can be a little dicey, but has the potential to be most effective. Examine the site where your brand is mentioned and offer a suggestion of a content correction that could be made. Don’t address anything too petty so as not to offend and do emphasize the value and relevance of the content, while mentioning how you would like to link it to your page. This tactic will grab the attention of the reader and you may be able to build a partnership out of this one.

Overcome Fears

You can aim to throw the common fear of “directing traffic away from the site” out the window by suggesting that the editor builds the link to open in a new window. This way, you may avoid an automatic “no” and retain the reader’s interest in your request.

Converting plain-text mentions to linked mentions is an excellent way to promote your brand and build your authority. The information is already out there. Now, your task is to find it, using tools such as those mentioned above, along with your politeness and persuasion to get the link.

]]>